Nightmare Realm
by BigFics2
Summary: A rouge Team Rocket thief with a Darkrai hits Dawn with a very rare attack that kills nearly everyone it hits. Can Ash and friends find a way to save Dawn, or will she die a horrible dream induced death?
1. Nightmare Realm Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Nintendo does.

Warning: Though this 1st part looks innocent enough it will turn into a dark and gory theme in part 2. You have been warned!

**Nightmare Realm**

**Part 1**

It's a beautiful sunny day as we join our three young heroes walking along a wide path over a few meadow covered hills. But it's starting to get late, and our heroes are hoping to find a Pokemon center soon to rest for the night.

"Hummmmmm…. ahhh! Man it's been a long day. I sure hope we can find a Pokemon center soon." says Ash as he stretches out his tired muscles. "Pika Pika." Pikachu agrees. "Hey Brock, are there any listed in the travel guide?" asks Dawn. "I'll take a look." says Brock as he reaches for his Seno region travel guide. He opens it up and turns to the map page. "Hmmm. Looks like there's one in a town not too far from here. In fact it should be just up over the next couple of hills." says Brock. "ALL RIGHT THEN! Let's go!" says Ash as he pumps his fist into the air. He then starts running down the path. The other two give chase.

Within a few minute the three each the outskirts of the town. They all see a welcome sign. "WELCOME TO REM TOWN." "Rem town huh. Odd name for a town if you ask me." says Ash. "Says here that this town is famous for a special jewel with the power that gives you the best good night's sleep in the world. Hundreds of people come here monthly with sleep disorders to help get some sleep." explains Brock. "A town with a jewel that helps you sleep eh? Sounds perfect for us. Right Piplup?" asks Dawn. "Pip Piplup!" agrees Piplup. "Well might as well find the Pokemon center." says Ash. With that the three head into town.

As the three walk down the main street they walk through a market street winding up for the day. Some last minute shoppers are hustling about while some shops have already closed up for the day. But as they round the corner to go down the street with the Pokemon center, Dawn bumps right into someone. Both parties fall backwards. "Dawn! Are you OK?" asks a concerned Ash and he goes over to help her up. "Ow. I'm ok. Just a hard landing on my butt is all." says Dawn as she's helped up. "Ah! Oh no what about the other person?" says Dawn very concerned.

"Mayor Gladdy! Are you ok sir?" asks a middle aged woman. "M-Mayor!?" says Dawn with a scared jitter in her voice. The three watch as a tubby middle aged man with a mustache wearing a dark purple "mayor-like" suit and top hat is slowly helped up by the woman. "I'm ok Catherin. Everything is still in one piece." says the tubby mayor with a grin. "Oh my gosh sir! I'm so sorry!" says Dawn with a panic as she bows repeatedly. "Hey don't sweat it. I'm not hurt. Bumping into people is a natural occurrence. And it's sometimes unexpected." says the mayor with another big grin. "Oh. I'm still very sorry." says Dawn.

"It's ok young lady really. I'm Mr. Gladdy. Mayor of REM town. And this is my secretary Mrs. Catherin Jane." says the Mayor. "Hi I'm Ash! I'm from Pallet town, and this is my partner Pikachu." "Pikachu!" say Ash and Pikachu. "I'm Dawn. I'm unfortunately the clumsy one apparently. And this is my partner Piplup." "Piplup!" say Dawn and Piplup. "And I'm Brock." says Brock. "Well it's a pleasure to meet all of you. So are you here to help yourselves get a good night's sleep?" asks Gladdy.

"Well not exactly. We're just staying the night since it's late. See I'm on my way to get my next Gym Badge." says Ash. "I see. Well you couldn't have picked a better place to sleep in. So where are you folks staying tonight?" asks Gladdy. "We were going to the Pokemon center to eat and then sleep for the night there." says Dawn. "Oh Poppycock! I won't hear of it. I have plenty of guest bedrooms in my place that go unused, so why not spend the night at my house? It's closer to the REM pearl so you'll get an even better night's sleep!" says Gladdy with another big grin. "Sure why not!" says Ash with a big smile himself.

"Hey wait. Is the REM pearl that special jewel we read about in the travel guide?" asks Dawn. "It's certainly is! It's our town's special sleep aid and pride and joy. Would you three like to see it?" asks Gladdy. "Oh can we!?" asks Dawn with an enthusiastic tone. "Sure. It's located in our Town Hall's museum which is right next to my house. The museum doesn't close for another thirty minutes so it should be fine." says Gladdy. "Oh wow! I can't wait!" says Dawn. Ash and Brock look at each other with a sweat drop on their heads. They know Dawn just can't resist the lure of pretty things.

Within a few minutes the group arrives at the town hall, and enters through a side door which is the entrance to the museum. "Hello there Mayor Gladdy. Are you here to look at the REM Pearl again?" asks the desk clerk. "Yup. Going to show it to a few visitors." says Gladdy. It's a small museum. A few artifacts here and there, and some inscriptions telling of the town's history. Finally the group comes up to a small pedestal in the middle of the museum with a large glass case on top of it. Inside it is a rather large 1ft diameter white orb.

"There it is. It REM Pearl." says Gladdy. "Wow! It's beautiful!" says Dawn with sparkles in her eyes. "So Mayor Gladdy did a huge Cloyster make this pearl?" asks Brock. "Actually Brock it's not a pearl at all." says Mrs. Jane. "It's not?" asks Dawn with disappointment. "Nope. It's actually a smooth shinny white meteorite." says Mrs. Jane. "A meteorite?" they all ask in unison. "Yes. The story goes that a long, long time ago, when this town was nothing more that a small hamlet, there was a huge meteor shower. During this meteor shower one small meteor slammed into the ground right where this pedestal stands today. When the people of the hamlet tried picking it up after it had cooled down the crusty rocky layer broke off revealing the smooth shinny white rock you see here. Pretty soon they realized that the meteorite actually helped them get better sleep. And thus the hamlet grew in size and fame over time to the town we have today." explains Mrs. Jane.

"Wow! Amazing!" says Dawn. "Yeah cool story. But what caused it to be white, and how does it help people sleep?" asks Ash. "Well we're not sure what made it white, but we do know, through scientific study, that it gives off strong Alpha waves on the exact frequency that living creatures have while asleep. The Alpha waves the REM pearl gives out causes REM sleep to last longer and thus helps rest and the heal the body better. This is also why we named the meteorite and our town the REM pearl and REM town. Because of better REM sleep." explains Gladdy. Gladdy then looks at his watch. "Well speaking of which; the museum is going to close in a few minutes so why don't you all come on over to my house now? We'll have a nice dinner then show you to your rooms." says Gladdy. The group then walks out of the museum.

Meanwhile, peaking in through a nearby window….. "Did you hear?! That marvelous meteorite can do wining wonders for someone suffering from a sleepy sickness." says James. "Well if that's the case then this beautiful beauty could use it more than you two lugs." says Jesse. "Well I have a better idea! What if we were to pooch that perfect precious pearl and give it to the boss as a super slick souvenir?" says Meowth. "Go on." says Jesse and James. "Well running the Team Rocket machine everyday must be a tough exhausting job. If we were to give it to the boss, he'd be able to sleep soundly every night. I can see it now. The boss sets the stone on his night stand next to his bed and wakes up refreshed and ready to go every day. He'd surely say 'It's all thanks to Jesse, James, and Mewoth that I'm able to wake up every morning refreshed and ready to take on the day. I'll give them promotions that have never before been seen in Team Rocket!'" says Meowth.

"What a wonderful idea!" says Jesse. "Hip! Hip! Hooray! Promotions are coming our way!" the three say in unison. *POP* "Wabafett!" cries out Wabafett. "Hey! Who are you three?" comes a voice from behind the three. They spin around to see who it is and see a man wearing a black custom Team Rocket uniform. "Oh wait. You guys must be the operatives working here in the Seno region; Jesse, James, and Meowth." says the other Team Rocket member. "That's right and just who are you!?" asks Jesse with some arrogance. The man smirks. "The name's Billy. Billy Kid. Professional Team Rocket thief." says the black clothed man. "Wait you don't mean THE Billy Kid?! The Boss's personal rare item stealer?" says James. "That's right. And yes I'm here to steal the REM pearl for him." answers Billy. The three get a defeated look on their faces. "There goes our promotions." says Meowth. "Well If you're willing to assist me in this heist I'd be more than willing to put in a good word for you with the boss when I get back." says Billy. "Really!? We'd be more than happy to! If it means getting on the boss's good side then who could say no!?" says Jesse. "Good. Come with me." says Billy.

Meanwhile at the Mayor's residents a little while later….. "Ahhh! That was a great meal Mayor Gladdy! The orinberry pie was particularly good." says Ash as he pats his full stomach. "I'd love to get the recipe for those Poppin pudding treats as well." says Dawn "Well I'm glad you enjoyed it Ash and Dawn." says Gladdy. "And I thank you too! I'm always glad to cook for guests." says a lovely wavy green haired young woman with green eyes as she walks into the dinning room. "WOW!!! What a beautiful gal!" says Brock "May I introduce my daughter Glenda." says Gladdy. Brock then runs over to her and takes her hand. "Your cooking is divine! Just as good as mine! Let's say me and you try and cook up a romantic relationship with each other. *SLAM!!!* "Ahhhh! Just as soon as I get through defrosting….." says Brock as he collapses to the ground after being hit with Crogaunt's Poisonjab. "Crogaunt-gaunt-gaunt." giggles Crogaunt as he drags Brock away.

"Eh heh heh heh. Sorry about that. Brock tends to do that to every pretty woman he sees." says Ash with a sweat drop. "Well I'm flattered that you all think I'm pretty. But it's getting late. May I show you to your rooms?" asks Glenda. "Ok. After a meal like that a good night's sleep is just what the doctor ordered." says Ash. "This way please." says Glenda. The four head up stairs to a long hallway with seven guest bedrooms. Glenda opens one on the right to a pinkish room. "Dawn this will be room for the night if that's ok." says Glenda. "Wow! It's perfect!" says Dawn. The room has subdued pink wallpaper with a single bed, a vanity mirror on one side and dresser on the other, a big chair in the corner with a window facing toward the town hall beside it and a personal bathroom also with matching pink decor. "And Brock and Ash, this will be your room." says Glenda as she opens the door directly across from Dawn's. It matches the décor from Dawns room, only it's in ice blue and with two twin beds.

"This will do just fine my lovely. Your beautiful face shall be what gives me a restful night's sleep." says Brock as he takes Glenda's hand again. Ash grabs Brock by the collar. "Come on! It's time for bed Brock. Thanks Glenda. Good night!" says Ash as he yanks Brock in. "Good night." says Glenda as Ash closes the door. "And Dawn I hope you have a good night's sleep also. Of course I really don't need to say that do I?" says Glenda with a smile. "Ha ha! Guess not. But thank you anyway. Good night." says Dawn as she closes the door. Thirty minutes later Dawn walks out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and drying off her hair with another. "Wow it feels so good to have a shower in a nice bathroom for once. I mean using a Pokemon Center's shower is ok but it just seems just so…. public." says Dawn. "Lup. Piplup." says Piplup as it watches Dawn change into her PJs. Dawn gets under the covers to her bed while Pipplup lies down in the big chair with a blanket. "Good night Pipplup." says Dawn. "Lup." says Piplup. Dawn then turns out the lamp beside the bed.

Several hours later in the middle of the night, Billy Kid, with Jesse, James, and Meowth in tow, make their way quietly to the side entrance to the museum. When they reach the door Meowth speaks up. "So how do you suppose we go about getting in there to steal that there REM Pearl?" "Heh. That's the beauty of it. WE don't have to." says Billy. "Huh?" the three say in unison. Billy then holds up a superball. "Come on out Darkrai." he says. The superball pops open and out comes a Darkrai. "Whoa! That's one scary Darkrai." says Jesse. "Ok Darkrai, just as we practiced." says Billy. The Darkrai nods its head and then sinks into the nighttime shadows. Within a moment it reappears inside the museum in front of the pedestal with the REM Pearl. It then holds its hand out and a single flame of Willowwisp appears. It places it on top of the glass case and slowly melts through the top off of it. After the molten glass cools Darkrai reaches in and grabs the REM Pearl.

With a few hand signals from Billy the Darkrai starts heading off to the back of the town hall. "Hey where's it going?" asks James. "It's headed to the town hall's chimney. Since the REM Pearl can't meld into the shadows, Darkrai has to bring it up out the chimney." says Billy. "Why can't we just unlock the door and let it out through here? Like so." says Meowth as he takes one of his claws and easily unlocks the door. He grabs the handle and begins to pull down. "NO YOU FOOL!" nearly screams Billy. But it's too late. The door opens and almost immediately *RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!* goes the alarm. Billy, Jesse, and James all punch Meowth on top of the head. "Way to go idiot! You set of the door sensor alarm! You NEVER just go walking in though the front door!" says Billy.

"Darkrai use Nightshade on the alarm!" commands Billy. Immediately two dark lightning bolts shot out from Darkrai's eyes and slam into the Alarm bell, destroying it. Darkrai then flies out the now open door and drops the REM Pearl into Billy's hands. Come on you three. Remember what I told you earlier. If something were to go wrong I'm counting on you three to slow down and stop any pursuers. Got it!" orders Billy. "Yes sir!" says Jesse, James, and a three head lumped Meowth. The four then start running to the nearby forest.

Dawn jolts awake and sits up quickly in her bed. The sound of a loud bell is ringing through her ears. "What's going on?" she asks trying to speak over the bell. Suddenly the bell goes silent. Dawn has a confused look on her face. "What in the world was that all about?" she asks. "PIPLUP! PIPLUP!!" screams Piplup. Dawn looks over and sees Piplup madly pointing toward the window. "What is it Piplup?" asks Dawn as she runs over. She looks out the window and receives a shock. "Team Rocket?" she says to herself. "But wait who's that with them?" she says as she notices another man with a black team rocket uniform. Then she sees what he's carrying. "Ah! They've got the REM Pearl!" she yelps. She watches as they run down the street toward the nearby forested area.

Dawn runs out of her room to see a sleepy Ash walking out of his. "What's going on?" he asks in a sleepy daze. "Ash! Team Rocket's stolen the REM Pearl!" Dawn nearly shouts at him. "What!?" he says in shock. "I saw them from my window! They're getting away! We have to go after them!" says Dawn again. "Right!" agrees Ash. Within a couple of minutes the group runs out of Mayor Gladdy's house. Mayor Gladdy and Glenda are already across the street with Officer Jenny in front of the town hall. "Mayor Gladdy!" yells Ash. "Oh Ash, Dawn, Brock! It's terrible! Someone has stolen the REM pearl!" says Gladdy with a very saddened look on his face. "We know. And we know who it was. They're a group of thieves called Team Rocket. Dawn saw them running away with the REM Pearl." says Ash. "You saw them!? Which way did they go?" asks Officer Jenny to Dawn. "They ran down this street toward the forest! If we hurry we can still catch up to them! Follow me!" says Dawn. The group, lead by Dawn, then starts running to the forest area also.

Within a few minutes the group has entered the forest. "This forest isn't very deep. There's a clearing not too far ahead. They must have some sort of vehicle to get away in." says Glenda. However the group doesn't get too far into the forest when suddenly a hail of Bullet Seed pellets and several Hidden Power orbs slams into the ground between Dawn and the others. Dawn gets thrown forward while the others get thrown backwards. A small fire erupts between them. "What the!?" cries out Ash. "Ah ha ha ha haaa!" comes the familiar cackling laugh of Jesse and James from above. The group looks up and sees the familiar Meowth balloon hovering just over the forest. The group sees that they already have Carnivine and Yanmega out ready to do battle. "Is that the sound of twerps I hear?" "I guess we can instill some fear!" start Jesse and James.

"CHUUUUUUU!!!!" Suddenly a Thunderbolt shoots up at them but barely misses the balloon. "HEY WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA INTURUPTING OUR MOTTO!!" yells Jesse. "We don't have time for your dumb motto Team Rocket! Give us back the REM Pearl!" shouts Ash back. "Sorry! But no. Just try and take it from us!" says Jesse. Dawn then thinks to herself "Wait a minute. Why would they attack us out of the blue like this if they have it? Wouldn't they just run away?" Suddenly something pops into her head. "Wait! Where's the other Team Rocket member? He must still have it!" yells Dawn. Jesse, James, and Meowth make a shocked look. "What other Team Rocket member?" asks Ash through the flames. "I saw another Team Rocket member from my window run off with them with the REM Pearl. He must be on ahead. I'll go try and stop him!" yells Dawn. "Ok! We'll handle these three losers and be right with you. Good luck Dawn" yells Ash.

Dawn turns and starts running. "There's no way we're going to let you try and stop Billy Kid! Carnivine! Use Vinewhip to catch the twerpet!" calls out James. "CarniVINE!" *Sawooooosh!* cries out Carnivine as it let's loose a Vinewhip attack. "Ok Growleth come out and uses Flamethrower on that Vinewhip!" calls out Officer Jenny as she throws a Pokeball. A Growleth pops out, lands on the ground, and immediately unleashes a Flamethrower. The two attacks meet and the first couple of feet of Carnivine's Vinewhip gets burned. "VIIIIINE!!!" screams Carnivine as it reels in its Vinewhip and starts to blow on them. "Thanks Officer Jenny!" calls out Dawn as she starts running deeper into the forest again. "HOW DARE YOU! Yanmega! Sonicboom!" "And Carnivine use Bulletseed!" shout Jesse and James. "Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" "Growleth use Ember!" shout Ash and Officer Jenny. The four attacks meet and a large explosion and smoke cloud erupt on contact.

Meanwhile, with Piplup on her shoulder, Dawn makes her way through the forest and arrives in a small clearing. There ahead of her is Billy Kid getting ready to make his escape on a motorcycle. "Hold it right there!" shouts Dawn. Billy looks over and sees Dawn. "That girl was with that Mayor today. Darn those other three. They can't even slow down one girl?!" Billy thinks to himself. "Sorry kid I got no time to mess with you!" he shouts. "Give back the REM Pearl you thief!" shouts Dawn. "MAKE ME!" Billy shouts back. Billy starts up the Motorcycle and peels away across the grassy clearing. "Piplup! Use Whirlpool!" shouts Dawn. "Piiiiiiiiiiiipluuuuuuuuuup!" cries out Piplup as it forms a whirling mass of water and then throws it at the motorcycle. The swirling mass of water slams into the grass just ahead of Billy's motorcycle. The grass, now slick with water, causes the motorcycle to skid and throws Billy off. He lands on the ground with a thud.

"Why you…." mumbles Billy as he slowly stands up. "Last chance Billy Kid! Hand over the REM Pearl." demands Dawn. Billy has a very mad look on his face. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT! Come out Darkrai!" shouts Billy has he throws his superball. The superball pops open and out comes Darkrai. With a muffled growl it looks directly at Piplup. Piplup's face goes a little pal as it sees the scary face. "Pull it together Piplup! Use Bubblebeam!" orders Dawn. "Nightshade Darkrai!" orders Billy. The two dark lightning bolts and the flurry of bubbles crash into each other and let off a loud explosion. "Darkrai use Shadowball!" orders Billy. A dark glowing energy sphere forms between Darkrai's hands and it then throws it at Piplup. "Piplup! Dodge and use Whirlpool!" shouts Dawn.

The nimble water bird Pokemon easily sidejumps the sphere and let's go another swirling mass of water. "Darkrai! Maximum power Whillowhisp!" orders Billy. Ten large grayish flames appear and then start to spin around Darkrai counter to that of the whirlpool. Darkrai throws the Whillowhisps all at once at the Whirlpool. The two attacks crash into each other and instantly flash into a cloud of steam. The steam cloud forces Darkrai to lower to the ground. "Now's our chance!" says Dawn to herself. "Piplup! Use Peck!" orders Dawn. Billy smirks. Piplup runs at Darkrai in a full sprint as its beak starts glowing and extends to twice its length. It jumps up and lunges at Darkrai. Darkrai holds its ground as Piplup unexpectedly flies right through Darkrai's body. Darkrai then spins around and catches Piplup by its right foot. Needless to say this shocks Piplup and Dawn.

"Piplup! But how?" asks a dumfounded Dawn. "You idiot! Darkrai is a Ghost type! Normal and direct attacks like that have no effect! And it's going to cost you! Darkrai use Nightshade." orders Billy. Darkrai lets lose with a Nightshade attack at point blank range and doesn't let up. "PIPLUUUUUUUP!" screams Piplup. "No Piplup!" shouts Dawn. Piplup continues to shake because of all the damage it's taking. "Piplup try using Bubblebeam again!" shouts Dawn. Through all the damage it's taking, Piplup manages to open its beak and unleash a furious Bubblebeam attack. The Bubblebeam slams into Darkrai's face and explodes. Darkrai howls and drops Piplup on the ground. Piplup hits the ground hard while Darkrai gets thrown back out of the explosion cloud while rubbing its face.

"Come on Piplup! Darkrai's hurt! Get up!" commands Dawn. Piplup slowly starts to stand back up. "He's not hurt as much as you think." says Billy. Darkrai takes its hand away from its face. "We'll just see about that! Piplup! Use Bubblebeam!" commands Dawn. "Piiiipluuuuuup!" caries out Piplup as it lets out another Bubblebeam. "Darkrai use the shadows!" orders Billy. Darkrai quickly drops to the ground and merges into the nighttime shadows causing the Bubblebeam to way overshoot. "Ah where'd it go?" says a panicked Dawn. "Ok Darkrai! Shadowball!" orders Billy. "Careful Piplup! It could come out anywhere!" says Dawn. Piplup franticly looks around trying to see where Darkrai will emerge. Unfortunately, while its head is turned, an arm shoots up in front of Piplup with a Shadowball ready to fire. "Piplup! In front of you!" cries out Dawn. But it's too late. The arm slams the Shadowball right into Piplup's face and explodes.

Piplup goes flying out of the explosion cloud. "Ah Piplup!" cries out Dawn. She runs up and catches Piplup in her arms. "Piplup are you ok?" she asks in a panic. Piplup doesn't respond; it's been knocked out cold. "Now that, that's over with, I'll be leaving now." says Billy. Dawn grits her teeth. "I don't think so! I'll use my Bunnirie's Icebeam to freeze you in place if I have to! One way or another I'm going to get back that REM Pearl!" shouts Dawn as she pulls out her Bunnirie's Pokeball. "Darn this girl just won't quit! Looks as though I'll have to use THAT." says Billy to himself. "I'm sorry to do this to you young lady, but you're leaving me with no other choice. Darkrai….. use NIGHTMARE REALM on the girl." says Billy sternly. Darkrai glances back at Billy for a second as if to confirm that he wants this done. It then turns back to Dawn.

"I WILL stop you! Bunnirie! I choose…." Darkrai quickly sinks into the shadows once again, causing Dawn to stop mid-throw and mid-sentence. Dawn quickly looks around to try and find the Darkrai, but to no avail. Darkrai then shoots up out of the ground shadows right in front of Dawn and grabs the sides of her head before she can react, forcing her to look at it face to face. Darkrai's eyes then glow a bright red. "W-What are you….do….ing….?" trails off Dawn. Her body starts to go limp. Her eyes start to go out of focus and half close and then start glowing a bright red themselves. Within moments Dawn's resistance to this attack completely stops. Darkrai lets go of her head and she slumps to the ground with a thump.

Billy lets out a small sigh. "Heh. A shame really. She was cute too. Darkrai return." he says coldly. Darkrai beams back into the superball. Billy takes one last cold look at Dawn, then walks over to his motorcycle, picks it up, and gets on. He starts it up and peels off again. But just as soon as he does he hears some screams and then Team Rocket's balloon suddenly comes crashing down in front of him with half of the balloon on fire. "What the!" is all he can get out before crashing right into the basket of the balloon. Billy goes flying over the basket and crashes hard on the ground. The REM Pearl also goes flying out of his motorcycle, up over the basket, and rolls up just in front of him. "Give us back the REM Pearl Team Rocket!" comes a shout from the forest. Billy slowly looks over and sees the other meddlers come running out of the forest. Billy slowly starts to stand up. He grabs the REM Pearl and then watches as the group of people come running at him.

Billy takes a quick glance at the fallen balloon and sees a semiconscious Team Rocket group with a knocked out Carnivive and Yanmega. "Darn fools can't even delay a pursuing group of meddlers!" he thinks to himself. As they approach the scene of the balloon crash, the group is shocked to see both Piplup and Dawn lying unconscious on the ground. "Dawn! Piplup! Grrrr! What have you done to them Billy Kid!?" demands Ash. "I merely got rid of a couple of obstacles in my way." says Billy with a smirk. "Grrr! You'll pay for what you've done today!" yells Ash again. "Billy Kid you are under arrest for breaking and entering, theft, and assault! Give us back the REM Pearl now and you'll receive a fair trial!" calls out Officer Jenny. "Heh! Do you really expect me to do that!? The REM Pearl is now the property of Team Rocket and I'm not about to give it up!" responds Billy.

Billy turns to start running away. "Oh no you don't! Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" "And Growleth use Flamethrower!" call out Ash and Officer Jenny. "Piiiii-kaaaaa-CHUUUUU!!!" "GROWLLLLL!!!" call out the two Pokemon as they let out their attacks. The two attacks quickly reach their targets. The Flamethrower engulfs the balloon basket's propane burner while the Thunderbolt hits the motorcycle. The Flamethrower causes the propane burner to explode while the Thunderbolt detonates the motorcycle's gas tank. The mighty blast causes Billy to lose his hold on the REM Pearl and sends him and the rest of Team Rocket rocketing into the air one way and the REM Pearl in the other. "No! The REM Pearl! The boss isn't going to like this when I don't bring it back!" shouts Billy. "Oh don't sweat it! We fail all the time and the boss never gets mad at us." says Jesse with a smile. "That's true! We've been sent packing by that prestigious Pikachu many times." says James.

"Shut it! This is all your fault you know! You couldn't even manage delaying them! There's no way I'll put in a good word for you now!" screams Billy. The rest of Team Rocket are a little stunned to hear that. "Well it doesn't matter now. They've already paid the price for interfering. Or at least they soon will be." says Billy calmly. "Well them's the breaks I guess. Guess there's nothing else to say but" – "WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNN!!!" "Wabafett!" *Sparkle!* says Meowth with the rest of Team Rocket and Wabafett. Meanwhile the REM Pearl is falling toward the group at a fast speed. "Oh no! The REM Pearl!" cries out Glenda. "I got it! Happinie! Catch the REM Pearl!" shouts Brock as he throws a Pokeball. The Pokeball pops open and Happinie lands of the ground. "Happinie!" It looks up and sees the REM Pearl falling fast. "Happ! Happ! Happ!" it yelps as it scurries from side to side trying to stay under the REM Pearl. It stands in the right spot and catches it easily. "Happinie!" it yelps happily. "Good catch Happinie!" says Brock.

"Dawn!" calls out Ash snapping Brock's attention back to their fallen comrade. Ash is already running over to Dawn. Ash reaches Dawn and rolls her over onto her back. "Dawn! Dawn are you ok? Speak to me?" says a near frantic Ash. No response. "Come on Dawn! Snap out of it!" says Ash again as he shakes her a then pops her on her cheek. But there's still no response. The only indications of life are her slow shallow breaths and a pulse. Her eyes are lifless though. With them only half open and glowing a bright red her look is a bit eerie. "That Billy Kid did something to her. Mayor Gladdy is there a human hospital in your town?" demands Ash. "Yes. It's a small five room hospital but it has all the amenities that a full sized one would have." answers Gladdy. "Good! Let's go then." says Ash as he picks up Dawn and starts running back to REM town.

End of part 1.

To be continued in Part 2.

Author Note: This is a little short story I decided to do to take a brake from my Stellvia fanfic and preparing for my Lucky Star Fanfic. I kept debating on whether to make this one long oneshot or split it into two or three parts for a long time. I finally decided to make it into two or three parts as I don't like my stories to go too far past 10 pages (Microsoft Word). Oh and by the way it's REALLY tough to type in the fancy rhyming way that Team Rocket always does. I just can't see how the writers can do it every episode…..

Story note: What does this mysterious attack called "Nightmare Realm" do? Will Dawn be able to recover or will she stay in a catatonic state forever…. or possibly worse. Be sure to read part two coming soon to find out. See you next chapter!


	2. Nightmare Realm Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Nintendo does.

Warning: This 2nd part of this short story will have dark gory themes. You have been warned!

**Nightmare Realm**

**Part 2**

It's the wee hours of the morning after last night's battle for the REM Pearl. Last night a rouge Team Rocket member by the name of Billy Kid, with the assistance of Jesse, James, and Meowth, stole the famous REM Pearl from REM Town and nearly got away. After a fierce battle our heroes managed to get the REM Pearl back, but unfortunately Dawn was hit with a mysterious attack from a powerful Darkrai called "Nightmare Realm" that caused her to fall into a comatose state. Can Ash and the others find a way to bring Dawn out of this state, or will she be doomed to stay in it forever…. or possibly worse.

An older looking female doctor stands over Dawn with her stethoscope on Dawn's chest. Dawn has already been changed into a gown by the nurses and an I.V. has already been inserted into her arm along with a heart monitor. As the heart monitor beeps along the Doctor slowly but surly cheeks all the works to try and figure out what's wrong with Dawn. As the doctor pulls her stethoscope away she let's out a small sigh. "So Dr. Matthews, do you know what's wrong with her?" asks Gladdy. "I'm sorry mayor, I haven't a clue." says Dr. Matthews. She takes out her opitcalscope and tries to look into Dawn's half opened red glowing eyes. "*sigh* I can't even see into her eyes beyond that glowing." says Dr. Matthews.

"Is there anything you can do for her at all?" asks Gladdy. "I tell you I've seen my far share of human injuries and such caused by Pokemon attacks in my career, but I have never seen anything like this, or ever heard of a case like this. I'm sorry to say that I'm stumped. But I and my staff will do anything we can to help her. You can be sure of that." answers Dr. Matthews. "*sigh* Not the news I wanted to hear, but nevertheless Dr. Matthews we know you're trying you hardest, and we thank you." says Gladdy. "This is all my fault." says Ash. Everyone turns around and looks at Ash sitting in a chair near the door looking really down with his elbows on his knees. "No Ash. Don't even think that. This isn't your fault at all." says Brock in a calm yet harsh manner.

"But it is my fault! I was the one who let her go on ahead without us! And look what happened to her!" says Ash near the point of crying. "Stop it Ash. You had no idea this would happen. It's NOT your fault. You did what you thought was the right thing at the time. And I agreed." says Brock again. "But-!" "But nothing! Listen if anyone's at fault it's that Billy Kid guy! If it weren't for him the REM Real wouldn't have been stolen, we wouldn't have gone after him and the rest of Team Rocket, and Dawn wouldn't have been attacked." says Brock again interrupting Ash. Ash goes to say something but can only turn away. He feels a tug on his shirt and looks over. "Piiika." says Pikachu calmly. Ash hangs his head for a second. "You're right…… I just can't help but feel I'm a little responsible." says Ash.

Brock looks at Pikachu for a second and then something pops into his head. "Dr. Matthews! Do you think Nurse Joy could help us?" he asks. "Hmm? What for? She's a Pokemon specialist, not a human doctor." says Dr. Matthews. "True, But she also knows a lot more about Pokemon attacks. Maybe she can identify what attack Dawn was hit with." says Brock. "Well I'm all out of ideas and am willing to try anything at this point." says Dr. Matthews. "I sure hope she can help. Let's go." says Ash.

Within a few moments the group has made it over to the Pokemon Center next door and have met up with Nurse Joy. "Hmm so you need help identifying a certain Pokemon attack?" says Nurse Joy. "Yes and we need it as soon as possible." says Dr, Matthews. "Well by your descriptions of the symptoms I don't know which attack it is so I need to know which type of Pokemon it was that attacked her." says Nurse Joy. "Well I'm sorry to say that none of us know what Pokemon was used." says Brock. "Wait! What about Dawn's Piplup. It was knocked out by the Pokemon that more than likely attacked Dawn." says Ash. "Yeah! How's Dawn's Piplup doing? Is it awake yet?" asks Brock. "I'm sorry. But the Piplup you guys brought in earlier still hasn't regained consciousness, and probably won't for another hour or so. But rest assured that when It does I'll have it identify the Pokemon that attacked them." says Nurse Joy sadly but with some encouragement. "Please do. I don't know what effects this attack will cause so I don't really know if this is life threatening or not." says Dr. Matthews.

A few minutes later the group arrives back in the hospital when suddenly one of the nurses comes running toward them. "DR MATTHEWS! DR. MATTHEWS! She spoke!" says the nurse nearly frantic. Everyone is stunned for a second, and then they all run to Dawn's room. Sure enough when they get there they hear her mumbling even though her eyes are still glowing bright red. "Dawn can you hear me? It's me Ash! Are you ok?" asks Ash in a near frantic state himself. "……Ash?" says Dawn with a quiet mumble. "Yes it's me! Are you ok?" he asks again. "…….Ash?........Brock?.......Pipplup?.....Pikachu?......Where is everybody?" she mumbles. "We're right here Dawn! Can you hear me?" asks Ash once more. "…..Hello? Where did everybody go?" Dawn mumbles again. Everyone is taken aback a little. "Doctor what's wrong with her?" asks Ash. Dr. Matthews takes a closer look at her and listens to her. "Hmm it looks as if she's in a dream state." says Dr. Matthews.

"Dream state?" asks Ash and Brock in unison. Just then a nurse starts walking by the door way. "Uh Nurse! Please bring me the Alpha wave reader please." asks Dr. Matthews. "Yes Ma'am Dr. Matthews." responds the nurse. Within a few minutes the nurse returns rolling in a large machine that looks like the heart monitor. Dr. Matthews can see the odd looks on Brock and Ash's faces. "I'll explain what this is in a minute. Nurse if you'll help me hook this up." says Dr. Matthews. As Dr. Matthews starts activating the machine the nurse places a monitoring headband over Dawn's forehead. A few moments later the monitor on the Alpha wave reader comes alive and stats to show a madly fluctuating wave. "Ok Ash, Brock. This is an Alpha wave reader. It can read and monitor a person's Alpha waves given off during sleep. Now look at this. Now normally when a person is dreaming, usually in REM sleep, their Alpha waves are usually in a steady state with a spike here and there. However, according to this though her Alpha waves are fluctuating wildly." explains Dr. Matthews.

"And what does that mean exactly?" asks Brock. "It means she's in danger. A lot of danger. It's like every synapse in her brain is firing off at random several times a second. Basically it's like her brain is in overdrive and running at full speed. If we can't get her out of this within the next few hours, her brain could start shutting down." explains Dr. Matthews. Ash and the others can only look at Dawn with shocked faces for a few moments. Ash then suddenly starts to walk out of the room." Ash? Where are you going?" asks Brock. Ash stops and stays silent for a second. "I'm going to go make a phone call." he says calmly. He then walks out of the room. Brock looks at the door for a few seconds after Ash leaves and then turns to Dr. Matthews. "Dr. Matthews you said She's in some sort of dream state right?" he asks. "Yes." she answers. "Do you know what she's dreaming about?" asks Brock again. "That…. I don't know." answers Dr. Matthews.

Dawn's eyes shoot wide open. The first thing she notices is that she's in a weird swirly reddish-purple, black space. No apparent sky, no walls of any sort, and no ground but yet she's lying down on something. Still in a slight daze she slowly stands up and looks around for a second. "Where's am I? What is this strange place?" she says. She looks down to see what she's standing on. But she's shocked to see nothing there. It looks the same as everywhere else. But then something else catches her attention. "BWAHHHH!!! Why am I naked!?" she screams as she covers up. She looks around again on instinct but realizes that covering herself up is futile; no one else is around to see her. As she lowers her arms she ponders what to do next. She realizes she can only do one thing right now. "Ash! Ash? Brock? Piplup? Pikachu?" she calls out loudly. But she doesn't get a response. "Where is everybody?" she says again. "Hello!? Where did everybody go!?" she calls out again. Still no response. "Oh man….. Don't tell me I have to go look for them in this weird place?" she moans.

She takes a look around again. "*sigh* Guess I've really got no other choice." she says again. She hesitantly takes a step, and when she confirms that it's safe enough to walk, she begins her search. Dawn walks around for what seems at least fifteen minutes or so. Every step she takes feels ice cold on her feet, but for some reason she herself doesn't feel cold. She can't understand it, but she decides not to try to understand it all; Right now her top priority is to find everyone else….. if they're even here. Suddenly she hears a faint noise ahead. She looks up and can see a spec of white further ahead. She starts to run a bit faster to quickly close in on the object. When she gets close enough she stops dead in her tracks when she sees what the object is. "*GASP* Pacharisu!" she shouts. There in front of her is a beaten and bloody Pasharisu. Its fur is all frayed with some bare patches showing. There's some blood on the ground and in its fur from some deep claw marks.

After hearing Dawn's shout Pacharisu slowly lifts its head up to look at her. "Chu…pa…" it says in a whisper as it reaches its paw out to Dawn. "Hang on Pacharisu! I'm coming." yells Dawn. But she only takes a few steps when suddenly a claw lashes out at her. Dawn just barely sees it coming and falls backwards before the slash hits her. "What was that!" she yelps. "Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" comes a high pitched laugh. "Wait I know that laugh. What are you doing here Meowth!?" she shouts into the dark. Meowth steps out of the darkness right behind Pacharisu. "What am I doing here? It's simple really. I'm just hungry. That's all." says Mewoth with an eerily looking smile. "Hungry? Well I'm sorry Meowth I don't have anything to eat on me." says Dawn. "Hah! It's not you I'm looking to get a meal out of. It's your little Pacharisu I'm interested in." says Meowth.

"But Pacharisu doesn't have anything to eat either!" yells Dawn. "Oh but that's where you're wrong. You see I'm a feline type Pokemon. Pacharisu is a rodent type. FELINES EAT RODENTS!" says Meowth with a VERY evil smile. Dawn feels her heart drop to her gut. "You mean... you beat up Pacharisu just so you could eat him?" says Dawn with a shaky voice. "Thaaat's riiiight! I tell you this. Pacharisu could barely even put up any kind of defense. I mean without you here to give it orders it was just no match for me." says Meowth. Meowth then grabs Pacharisu by the fur on top of its head. Pacharisu lets out a sequel of pain. "Pacharisu! Let him go Meowth!" screams Dawn. She tries to take a step but nearly falls forward on her face. "What the!? I can't lift my feet!" she yells. Dawn pulls with all her might but her feet are firmly planted on the ground for some reason.

"What's this? Are you so scared that you can't move? Neyah ha ha ha ha ha!" cackles Meowth. Meowth then extends his claws out from his right paw. "I've got to do something!" says a panicked Dawn to herself. She then gets an idea. "Pacharisu! Discharge!" she commands. Pacharisu tries it's hardest to squeeze its electrical cheek sacks, but in its weakened state all it can muster are a few sparks. "Neyah ha ha ha ha ha! Is that all you've got? If you're going to save Pacharisu you're just going to have to come over here and take him back yourself! Or is it that you don't care enough to come over here and get him?" says Meowth with an evil tone. Pacharisu looks directly at Dawn. "You know that's not true!" yells Dawn with tears starting to come out. "Well it doesn't matter. Tell you what. I'll count to ten and if you can reach me before I reach ten, then I'll give you back your Pacharisu." says Meowth with another evil grin.

"But I'm stuck. I can't move!" "One." says Meowth interrupting Dawn. Dawn stands in shock for a second then…"Two." She snaps back to 'reality' and begins to pull with all her might, but she still can't lift her feet. "Three!" She pulls harder and harder, the pain in her ankles are screaming at her to stop. "Four!" She bends down to her feet and tries desperately to wedge her fingers underneath them to try and pull them up. "Five!" She starts digging harder and harder, ignoring the cuts she's making in the bottom of her feet that are starting to bleed. "Six!" More tears are beginning to fall from her eyes as she realizes her time is running out. "Seven!" Dawn, now starting to panic, starts pulling up on her legs with every last ounce of strength: flatly ignoring the pain ebbing from her ankles as she does so. "Eight!" Her adrenaline starts to pump wildly through her body; the extra strength beginning to strain her ankles to the breaking point. "Nine!" Pain rips through Dawn's ankles as she can feel the tendons in her ankles starting to snap, but it's too late. Meowth holds the final number a couple of seconds longer…. then "TEN!"

"Well it looks as though you really don't care about your Pacharisu after all! Neyah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" cackles Meowth. Meowth then turns its right paw palm up and aims its extended claws at the back of Pacharisu's neck. "No Meowth! You can't! Stop it please! Don't do it I'm begging you!" cries out Dawn as tears splatter from her eyes. "Heh! I don't think so." says Meowth coldly. But before Dawn can get another word out……*SLACK!* with one swift motion, Meowth stabs Pacharisu through the back of the neck. Pacharisu's eyes bulge out as the claws stab through its neck and it coughs up a glob of blood. Dawn balls her fists up to her mouth. "no…..no…… NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" screams Dawn. Meowth can only laugh evilly as Dawn puts her hands over her face and begins to sob bitterly. Pacharisu continues to cough up blood. "Now which part should I eat first?" says Meowth.

"Give him back to me." says Dawn calmly. "Hmm?" says Meowth as he calmly looks back at Dawn. Dawn looks up from her hands with tears still pouring out of her eyes. She has a very distraught look on her face but she's oddly giving a strange crazy looking smile. "Give him back to me please. If we hurry and find a Pokemon center, we can still save him. So please, give Pacharisu back to me." says Dawn in a creepy kind way. Meowth gives an evil smirk as he can see his torturing of Pacharisu is making Dawn crack. "Heh. Ok then. I'll give him back to you. He's too big for me to eat all of him so I'll just take the head to munch on. You can have the rest." says Meowth still with his evil grin. "Huh?" says Dawn. Meowth with its claws still jammed in Pacharisu's neck, which are acting like corks to keep it from bleeding out, then grabs Pacharisu's tail and begins to pull down as hard as he can.

Pacharisu's eyes bulge out as it suddenly feels a painful stretching from its neck. Dawn's eyes narrow as she realizes what Meowth is trying to do. "Meowth stop it! That's not what I meant! Please stop!" she cries out with more tears running down her face. Meowth ignores her and keeps on pulling. He can tell though his claws that Pacharisu's neck is beginning to give way. Pacharisu can feel its small tendons and muscles start to rip and tare under the strain and it begins to cough up more blood. Dawn is once again desperately trying to get her feet unstuck, but they still won't move. Dawn look's at Pacharisu directly in the eyes and can see its expression is begging for her to help it. Dawn pulls on her feet with all her might, she doesn't even care if she rips her own feet off. But no matter how hard she pulls, her feet strain with pain, but just don't budge.

Then *SNAP!* Pacharisu's vertebra in its neck snap. It falls limp but it's eyes are still fixated on Dawn. "MEOWTH PLEASE! STOP IT! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" she screams. Meowth ignores her and gives once last yank on Pacharisu's tail. With a horrid gutrenching tearing noise, Pacharisu's head slowly rips off. Dawn suddenly falls over; her feet being released from their stuck position. Blood splatters everywhere. Dawn looks up slowly. Her eyes narrow in horror as she gasps loudly. In front of her stands a blood soaked Meowth with Pacharisu's head in its right paw and its body being held by its tail in the left. Both the head and body have veins, muscles, and bone dangling out of them with blood dripping from them both. "Here you go sweetheart. Your Pacharisu. Well most of it." says Meowth as he tosses the body in front of Dawn. The body lands with a thud and splatters some blood into Dawns face.

Dawn doesn't even blink as the blood hits her. All she does is stare at the now headless torso on the ground. Meowth gives a satisfied evil grin and then takes a chomp out of Pacharisu's head. Fur, ear, scalp, bone, and some brains all at once. As he begins munching on his meal like an apple he turns and walks away and disappears into the reddish-purple, swirly blackness. Dawn just lays there on all fours horrified at what she's just witnessed, still starring Pacharisu's headless torso. Tears pour down Dawn's face and drop onto the "floor." All the emotions, fear, horror, sorrow, hatred, regret; all boil up inside her and she finally releases it. "Guh…. ha….ah….mm…ahhhhh**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"** She then feels herself pass out.

"Doctor! Her pulse just shot up to 160 beats a minute." calls out the nurse. "What?" says Dr. Matthews. She looks at the heart monitor and sure enough, not only does it show her heart rate sky rocketing, but it is also beeping madly. "What in the world is going on?" adds Dr. Matthews. "Her Alpha waves are also increasing." says the nurse. Dr. Matthews walks over and starts looking at the chart being printed out by the Alpha wave reader. But while she is looking at it Brock notices some red on the sheets near Dawns feet. "Dr. Matthews! Something's wrong with Dawn's feet!" he calls out. Dr. Matthews pulls the sheet up to reveal her feet and everyone receives a shock when they see Dawn's feet bleeding from cuts. "How in the world did those get there?" says Brock in disbelief. Dr. Matthews looks and sees something else. Dawn's feet appear to be straining against something. Her ankles look as if they are trying to pull up on her feet. If the cuts weren't bad enough she can see the tendons in Dawn's feet snapping.

"Nurse! Get me several ice packs now! For some reason the tendons in her feet are snapping!" orders Dr. Matthews. "Yes ma'am!" comes the replay. But just as soon as the Nurse says that the pulling on Dawn's feet suddenly stops. Dr. Matthews lets out a small sigh of relief when another nurse notices something. Dr. Matthews, she crying. Everyone looks at Dawn's face and sure enough tears are streaming down her face. But just a couple of seconds later they notice Dawn grit her teeth and then suddenly… "ahhhhh**!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"** Dawn lets out a hideous scream. She begins to thrash in her bed some, forcing the nurses and Brock to hold her down. "Nurse! I need ten ccs of sedative NOW!" orders Dr. Matthews. One of the nurses quickly run over to the medicine cabinet and grabs a needle and a small bottle of sedative. She quickly fills the needle with the recommended dosage for a girl of Dawn's age and size and hands it to Dr. Matthews. While the nurse holds down Dawn's arm Dr. Matthews sticks the needles into Dawn's arm and injects the sedative. Within a couple of seconds Dawn's thrashing stops and she calms down.

A few seconds later Ash comes running back into the room. "I heard Dawn screaming. What happened!?" he asks franticly. "We haven't a clue. Dawn's feet started bleeding and then she just suddenly started to scream." answers Brock. "Doctor what about her feet? We saw the tendons snapping. Should we take her into surgery?" asks one of the nurses. Dr. Matthews thinks for a second. "No. We'll have to wait. In her condition I have no idea how her body would react to surgery. For now we'll just keep her feet iced to keep the swelling down." answers the doctor. Brock looks back at Ash. "Ash who did you go call anyway?" asks Brock. Ash looks away for a second before answering. "I called her mother Johanna." responds Ash. "I talked with Mayor Gladdy before Dawn was admitted. He agreed to rent a helicopter to pick her up and bring her here to REM town. She should be here in a couple of hour." Ash adds. Brock nods his head in agreement.

"Dr. Matthews how long will she be out for?" asks Mayor Gladdy. "Well usually the amount of sedative that was given to her would keep her under for about three hours. But in her condition… who knows." answers Dr. Matthews. Dr. Matthews then bites her thumbnail. "I just WISH I knew what was going on with her." she adds. "Perhaps I can shed some light on that." comes a voice from the doorway. Everyone turns to see who it is. "Nurse Joy!.... and Piplup!?" says Ash in surprise. There in Nurse Joy's arms is Dawn's Piplup wrapped in bandages. "That's right. Piplup here woke up earlier than I thought it would, just a few minutes after you all had left." explains Nurse Joy. "So you know what's wrong with Dawn then?!" asks Brock. "Yes." answers Nurse Joy. "Then please by all means tell us!" says Dr. Matthews.

Nurse Joy clears her throat a bit before starting. "Well after Piplup woke up it was shortly able to identify the Pokemon that attacked both it and Dawn. It told us that it was a Darkrai that attacked them." says Nurse Joy. "A Darkrai?" says Ash. "Yes. It took some investigation but I was finally able to find a possible attack that was used on Dawn. It's called, Nightmare Realm." says Nurse Joy. "Nightmare Realm huh…" says Brock. "And is Dawn in any real danger because of this attack?" asks Dr. Matthews. Nurse Joy looks down slightly. "I'm afraid so." she answers. "It's a very rare attack that only very powerful Darkrais can learn. It sends that victim into a semi-conscious dream state." explains Nurse Joy further.

"And what does that mean exactly?" asks Dr. Matthews. "Basically it means that both her dream state and her real body are connected to each other. Meaning that what ever happens to her in her dream state will also happen to her real body here. If she were to suffer any injuries or suffer any mental stress in her dream state they would show up in her real body as well." explains Nurse Joy more. "That would explain the high pulse rate, the cuts and tendons snapping on her feet, and her screaming." says Dr. Matthews. "What ever she's dreaming about must be terrifying." says Brock. "Nurse Joy, were you able to find a cure for this?" asks Ash. "Well that I'm not entirely sure of." says Nurse Joy. "What do you mean? Is there one or not?" asks Ash again.

"I'm not sure because this is a very rare attack. It hasn't been well studied. But from what I've been able to gather it doesn't look good. In the past 100 years or so only 200 cases of this attack on humans have ever been reported. And sadly out of those 200 cases only two people have ever managed to wake up from this attack and live. And of those two one went totally insane and was kept in a mental hospital for the rest of his life. The other however was only able to awaken because they found the original Darkrai that had attacked him and got it to release the Nightmare Realm attack." explains Nurse Joy. "So what you're saying is that we need to find a Darkrai to help release Dawn from this attack. Is that it?" asks Brock. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. There have been several cases where they tried to get another Darkrai to save someone from a Nightmare Realm attack. I'm afraid that all of them failed. It seems that only the original Darkrai can release someone from this attack." explains Nurse Joy.

"So all we need to do is find Billy Kid and his Darkrai and force them to release Dawn from this attack right?!" asks Ash. "That would be my guess." says Nurse Joy. "Well what are we waiting for!? Let's go find them!" says Ash as he begins to run out of the room. "Hang on Ash!" yells Brock. Ash stops in his tracks and looks at Brock. "Do you have any idea where Billy Kid is now? More than likely he's far from here now. And a manhunt would take too long." explains Brock. Ash balls his hands into fists. "You're right. By the time we found him Dawn would be dead…." says Ash in some anger. The room stays quiet for a few seconds when Brock speaks back up. "Nurse Joy is there anything else you can tell us about this attack?" he asks.

Nurse Joy thinks for a moment. "Hmm well.... the only other thing I found out was that most Pokemon that are hit with this attack usually can wake up out of it soon after. It's as if they can tell that they're in a dream state and thus can wake up out of it. My guess it has to do with their physiology. As we all know a Pokemon's brain and physiology are made up differently than a human's. My guess is that since they're closer to nature and supernatural forces they can easily recognize a real dream from a fake one. However, a human's brain can't do that as well; in fact it's rare. When you and I have dreams it's tough for us to tell fantasy from reality." explains Nurse Joy. "I see. You're saying since humans don't have such a close connection with the supernatural like Pokemon, we don't have the resistance to this attack like Pokemon do. As such this attack is almost always fatal to humans." says Dr. Matthews. "Yes." says Nurse Joy with a nod.

"But! So what are we going to do? Are you saying there's nothing we can do?" asks Mayor Gladdy. "Essentially yes." says Nurse Joy sadly. "Preposterous! We can't just let this girl die! She helped this town save its most valuable historical item. She went beyond the duty more then anyone else did. I'll be darned if we're just going to let her die." says Mayor Gladdy earnestly. "I know what you're saying Mayor, but helping this girl is beyond our medical abilities." says Dr. Matthews. "The only thing we can do, it seems, is to keep her sedated to keep her calm." she adds. "I don't think that's a good idea." says Nurse Joy. "Why not?" asks Dr. Matthews. "Keeping her medicated and sedated reduces her already slim chances of waking up." explains Nurse Joy. Dr. Matthews makes a disturbed face but she realizes Nurse Joy is right. "I guess you're right. But I hope you don't have any objection to using straps to tie her down to keep her from hurting herself. She was thrashing around earlier and that's why we had to sedate her." says Dr. Matthews. Nurse Joy nods her head in approval.

But just as soon as they get through strapping down Dawn the Alpha wave and heart monitors begin to fluctuate again. "Doctor! Her Alpha waves are spiking again and her heart rate has just jumped back up to 140 beats a minute!" alerts a nurse. "What? The medication should have kept her under for at least three hours! It's only been 40 minutes! This really is one powerful attack…" says Dr. Matthews with surprise. As Dr. Matthews looks on with amazement Dawn begins to stir again. "…mmmph….. no!....... You can't!" says Dawn in her dream state of mind. "So her nightmare continues. I just wish there was someway we could wake her out of it." says Dr. Matthews.

Meanwhile, Dawn has awoken from her fainting spell after screaming at seeing Pacharisu's headless corpse.

End of Chapter 2

To be continued in Part 3

Author Note: Well it looks as though this may actually turn out to be a four part story. Parts three and four I must warn you will be just as gruesome as Part 2 so you have been warned. I will be doing the next Chapter of my Stellvia fanfic next. So look forward to it!

Story Note: Dawn's Nightmare is a real nightmare! Can her brain and body stay intact? Will there be a cure or treatment found that can save her in time? What gruesome situation will Dawn have to endure next? Find out in Part three of Nightmare Realm! See you next Chapter!


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